Raindrops
by hellosweetiedarling
Summary: Joy falls ill, Victoria cares for her. Meanwhile a romance develops between the two.
1. Joy the Fighter

It was one of those days. Those days that you just want to lie there in bed, eyes wide open, tucked tightly in your nice warm bed. The rain falls against the windowsill, the pitter patter of rain could be heard, splashing gently against the window. Joy lies there, stretched out in her four poster bed. She had just awoken abruptly; her sheets still clung to her. Sweating profusely, she had just woken up from a nightmare and was still heavily breathing. Joy sits up in the bed, and turns to face her nightstand, finding a cup of tea…her favorite kind of tea. Next to the cup of tea, there was a note. She picks up the note, proceeding to read it. Quickly she recognized the handwriting. It was Victoria's handwriting.

_'Good morning, Joy. Made some tea, and thought you would like some on this dreary day. Love you, Victoria.'_

Joy smiles sweetly, taking a sip. She loved tea, and Victoria made her one of her favorite breakfast teas. The warm liquid felt good against her parched throat, she was thirsty after what she presumed to be the worst nightmare she had since she was a young child. She picks the cup up once again, and takes another sip, savoring the tart flavoring of the tea. Noticing Victoria had added honey to the tea, she smiles. As she thought about it, she sees a familiar face peer into the room. It was Victoria, carrying a tray of food. She sees Joy has awoken, and smiles brightly.

'Good morning, I see you've finally woken up. How are you feeling? Are you up to taking a brisk walk outside with me? It's lovely outside today.'

Joy smiles sweetly as Victoria sets the plate of food in front of her. She still felt feverish from the night before. Maybe this explained the sweating she was experiencing this morning when she woke up. She must have been ill. Eating the oatmeal in front of her, she gagged a bit. Joy hated oatmeal. She always thought it looked so blah, and how it tasted so bland. Even with garnishing it, she still found it to be something she would likely turn her nose up at. Victoria laughs a little, trying to cover it by covering her mouth.

'I know you despise oatmeal, but please, eat. They say it's better to eat things like that when you're not feeling too well. Oh yes, and soup…yes…soup.'

Joy looks up at Victoria, raising an eyebrow. 'How long was I out?'

Picking up her cup of tea, Joy takes another sip, as she toys with the string from the teabag still inside the cup.

Victoria thinks for a moment. She remembers picking up Joy off the floor, still in her nightgown and carrying her to the bed. She had found Joy there, feverish and barely coherent. Victoria remembers to take Joy's temperature, and finds she is feverish. She sends for a doctor, and sure enough, the only on call doctor that still came to visit patients at home, checked in on Joy. Apparently, Joy had the flu, and it was pretty bad. Her fever was still pretty bad, as Victoria could feel the sweat bead down Joy's forehead. Sighing, she had dabbed a washcloth into a bowl of cold water Elka had gotten for her, and dabbed Joy's forehead and cheeks gently. She hears Joy sleeping soundly, and smiling Victoria knew, her girl was a fighter. Meanwhile, Melanie went out to get ingredients for the soup, and Victoria stayed near Joy, making sure she was alright.

'You were out about twelve hours or so, Joy. I took care of you while Melanie went to the market for ingredients for a soup. She says that she used to make this soup when Jenna or Will was ill, and she thought it would be great for you too.'

Joy smiled, thankful for her wonderful friends. She was grateful that Victoria took care of her, with the help of Melanie. They had always been there for her. They had seen her at her best, and helped her through her worst moments. She didn't know what she would do without them. She knew that she had the best friends that one could ever ask for. They took care of her when she was sick; they took her out when she was lonely. They cheered her up when things didn't go right. She had to admit, they were pretty special to her.

Setting the cup down momentarily, she reaches over to turn the light on beside her bed. It was still very much dark out; the sun had yet to peek through. Actually, she didn't seem to think it would, considering how gloomy it looked outside. The clouds were dark and brooding, and she could tell it was windy outside because the large trees in the backyard, which her room faced swayed enough that it was noticeable. Victoria sits there on the wicker chair, watching Joy stare outside at the rain.

'When you are well again, Reyjoyla, we will go on that walk…I promised that to you.'


	2. Capturing the Moment

Joy smiles at Victoria's offer. In this weather, it wouldn't be the best idea. She didn't want to catch pneumonia or something nasty. She already was feeling quite lightheaded, but was able to keep food down. She wasn't sure how she fell ill, she couldn't even remember what it was she was doing before she passed out from her fever. One of the few things she recalled was Victoria dabbing washcloths that were damp across her forehead. That was as far as she could remember. Continuing to eat her breakfast, she looks out the window, watching the beads of water stream down the bay window in her room. Victoria stands up, fixing the curtain so that more light came inside, although it was pretty gloomy out.

Days later, it still was quite rainy out, but Joy was well again. Her appetite had returned and she had even spent time outside on the sunniest of days, enjoying the sunshine and shooting the breeze with Victoria and Melanie. But that sunshine didn't last very long and soon enough the rain had returned. Victoria was insistent on that walk though, so they took the chance, although it was rainy, damp and there were the possibilities of thunder in the forecast. The cold rain once again begins to fall against the path, creating small puddles along the path. Victoria pulls out her umbrella, smiling at Joy.

Opening it, she says, 'Good thing I decided to carry this with me. It was looking pretty gloomy when we headed out this morning.' Holding it over the two of them, they stand there, the rain falling gently against the umbrella. Joy rests her head against Victoria's shoulder. She feels the wool material of Victoria's coat, and smiles.

'I see you're wearing the coat I bought you for your birthday,' she says, smiling brightly. It was a beautiful wool peacoat, Joy had saved up from weeks of working in the department store job she had acquired recently just to buy Victoria something she would like. Victoria smiles, and says, 'I love it! It's lovely and my favorite color too!' They walk together, the umbrella protecting them from the rain, which was beginning to pour. Joy notices the downpour, and says, 'Honey, why don't we head back…I don't want to have to worry about you getting sick.'

Victoria nods, 'But you would take care of me if I did, and I would do the same.'

Joy would agree to that. She would give Victoria every single blanket the house had, and even would make her special chicken noodle soup, and maybe even mix Victoria a glass of orange juice with a shot of vodka. It was only because that was, after all, Victoria's favorite drink…even at breakfast time.

It was winter. Winter wasn't something someone from California was used to. It was a foreign weather to someone who hadn't been around it in quite some time. Joy and Victoria rarely were in that weather, well, except for the ski weekends in Tahoe, and the winter they were stuck in a cabin in Vermont, snowed in. so all in all, they were not used to living full time in this weather. The leaves were changing, some of the trees transformed from their shades of various greens to shades of yellows, browns, and deep reds. It really made the neighborhood absolutely magnificent to look at. Joy and Victoria were taking their morning walk, something they frequented quite weekly lately. They found it as a way for them to get exercise and to marvel at the beautiful trees and forestry.

They were taking a stroll along the winded pathway through the park closest to the home they shared with Elka and Melanie. Joy and Victoria knew Melanie quite a long time; they went through their divorces, breakups, struggles all together. Elka they met not too long ago, she was the caretaker of the house. Joy was repulsed by her at first, but then grew to like her, although she had some of the traits that reminded her way too much of her mother overseas. Walking through the neighborhood; Joy and Victoria admire the beauty of the beginning of fall. Joy feels the leaves crunching loudly against her boots. Breathing in the cool crisp, winter air she sighs. Her hand grasps Victoria's gently, fingers entwined with Victoria's.

'Victoria, it's beautiful outside, don't you agree?'


	3. A Moment Like This

Affectionately, she rubs Victoria's knuckle with her thumb. She wonders why she never fell for her earlier, why she never noticed Victoria in this way. It fell at her feet like a ton of bricks. How can she be in love? And of all people she had fallen deeply for, it was her best friend. She looks deep into Victoria's eyes, staring right into her soul. She looks at Joy lovingly, her smile brightening. Victoria felt as if she had found her soul mate. Years of failed relationships, including her failed marriages came to light. What chances would she have with Joy? Would Joy end up like the rest of them if she even jumped at the chance to be with her? Victoria stops her mind for a second.

Victoria stops her mind for a second.

_'Stop overthinking Victoria Chase, you're in love. You cannot stop it, you cannot change any figment of it, just accept it. Let yourself fall deeply for Joy. She loves you very much, Victoria…go for her. You never know what opportunities you could have with her. Joy could be the one. She could complete you more than you ever thought she would. Go for it, take a chance…you'll regret it if you do not try with her.'_

Victoria snaps out of her thoughts, and looks at Joy, who smiles at her. 'What is it that you are thinking about?'

Victoria snaps out of her thoughts, and looks at Joy, her eyes warm and inviting. She pulls Joy's face closer to her own. Her hands cup Joy's cheeks, her fingertips gently brushing against Joy's skin.

'Reyjoyla, I love you very much too. It's been a hard six months, accepting myself, and falling head over heels for my best friend. I didn't think I've ever had feelings like this before. They seem so foreign, so unusual for me. I've never felt like this, for anyone before. She leans forward, kissing Joy's forehead gently.

'I've wanted to do that for a while,' she says, smirking.

Joy smiles at Victoria, and she notices the glisten in Victoria's eyes. Her eyes sparkled excitedly, and she seemed happier than she had in a very long time. They would say that Victoria did find her soul mate. Vitoria came out to Joy in this exact wooded area, a little over a year and a half ago. Six months later, she confessed that she was in love with Joy, and wanted more from her than just friendship. Joy at first wasn't too sure what she wanted, as she had been hurt by many over the years. She had spent years ruminating over and over again, about how she couldn't seem to hold a serious relationship. Since childhood, Joy had felt so insecure. Her mother mocked her, she hardly knew her father…and most relationships she had didn't last or didn't materialize. Joy for the longest time thought that she had done something wrong in her life making everyone turn away at the first sight of her. She felt so rejected, so hurt…that was until she fell for Victoria, and hard.

'Remember Joy, a year and a half ago today, I told you my feelings?' Victoria says, her boot tracing hearts in the freshly fallen snow. She could care less what others thought; she loved snow more than anything in the whole entire universe.

Joy sighs, a smile across her lips. 'Of course I remember. I bought you coffee, and we talked about how you were…and then we came back to the house, and you asked to hold me because you always wanted to and I let you since Mel and Elka were away at the flea market that day.'

Victoria nods silently, pushing a stray bang away from her face. 'Yes, and then I wanted to kiss you, because I had dreamed for years what it would be like to kiss you. I had imagined that it was, and it really truly was the best kiss I ever had. It felt right, Reyjoyla darling…it was something I had wanted for a really long time.

Joy smiles at that memory. She remembered it being one of her better kisses. And this time, she was sober, and could remember every little detail. She could remember the feeling of Victoria's lips against hers, the stain imprint of the red lipstick that was left against the nape of her neck…oh and the hickey from their first make out. Joy sighs.

'What is it that you are thinking about, love?'

Joy smiles and throws her arms around Victoria. 'Our first real kiss.'


	4. Running with Thoughts

Victoria senses exactly what it was she wanted. And the best part was that she wanted it too. She leans in, kissing Joy against her lips, and then pauses, looking deep into her eyes.

'I love that sparkle you have. You seem really happy since you've been with me…like you've always wanted me or something.'

Joy blushes, a deep crimson red.'I've wanted you a long time Victoria Chase. And now, I finally have you.'

Victoria grasps Joy's hands, and squeezes them gently. Since coming out to her, she felt freer, she felt more herself. It was the best she had felt since childhood, since the time she first laid eyes on that girl she was with, her best playmate…her only playmate.

Victoria seldom had any friends as a child. Kids teased her because of her lanky figure; she was tall for her age, towered over most of her peers. She was seen by them as a snob, stuck up, self-centered, every single name in the book. But there was one girl who didn't do that at all.

_Lisa._

She was Victoria's only best friend, her closest confidant. She stuck up for Victoria when there were people taunting and teasing her because of her height. Lisa had dark hair, delicate features. Victoria recalled her first day in school, sitting behind Lisa, and not focusing on much else, except Lisa, the girl in front.

_'Miss Chase, pay attention to the lesson!' _

_Her teacher glared at her, frustrated at Victoria's inability to pay attention to the book the class was reading…it was some classic book, a book Victoria barely paged through. Victoria rather preferred to read Cosmo, or Teen Beat, then to read something so dry. She couldn't even remember the title, that's how very little she paid attention to the book._

_Sighing, Victoria looks down at the book, and turns a page, pretending to read the text in front of her, but snuck glances at the girl in front of her. Victoria was mesmerized by her, every time she spoke, her accent swept through Victoria's ears like music. She smiles dreamily, but then the bell rings, and the teacher dismisses the class. Victoria slips out of the classroom, without a word, and heads to the girls' bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, she runs her hands through the sink, and washes her face with the cool water._

_'Victoria, is that you?' _

_A voice came from the front of the bathroom, and a tall fair-haired blonde walked in. It was Lisa's good friend Lillian. Lillian was as well off as Victoria, and her father owned a large corporation. It made enough for spending summers in London._

_Victoria looks up, and dabs her face, still damp from the water she had just splashed on her face._

_'Yes, I'll be out in a second,' Victoria says and Lillian smiles, closing the door. Victoria looks in the mirror. _

Joy smiles at Victoria, gently grasping her hand, again stroking her hand with her thumb and index finger gently.

'Love,' Joy whispers, and throws her arms around Victoria's neck. Playfully she nibbles at Victoria's ear, and then moves her way towards the nape of her neck. She nips and sucks gently; breathing in the perfume Victoria had put on that very morning.


	5. Victoria's Love

'That's such a lovely memory. I don't think you've ever shared that with me before. '

_Victoria spent half of World History, in the bathroom. She knew it was bad for attendance, not showing up, but there wasn't an exam, just a long lecture on the Great Depression and going over a chapter she had barely paged through the evening before. Something had been on her mind all morning long. _

_Her attraction to Lisa, she never felt that way towards anyone before. Being near Lisa, she smiled and her feelings fluttered happily from within. At the mere thought, she sighed. _

Victoria sighs, whispering, 'I learned in that moment where my attractions were. For years, I hid what I felt because I wasn't sure of my feelings. Ever since I've fallen for you, I think now I know, I must have really wanted you.

Joy moans softly and continues kissing her against her neck. The snow fell as the two women stood still, holding each other tightly. Parting for a second, Victoria turns to Joy.

'Have you ever noticed how beautiful you are? It takes my breath away, just looking at you.'


End file.
